This past year saw a rare simultaneous visit of the president and vice president to Scranton, a pair of police chiefs laid low by their libidos, a disabled man who died in the worst case of neglect anyone can remember and the brutal murder of a young man whose friends have been charged with the crime.

Yankees superstars Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez turned up on the RailRiders roster and around town. We said farewell to "The Office" in a send-off that drew cast members and thousands of fans to the home of Dunder-Mifflin, and state Rep. Marty Flynn, D-113, chased down a prowler without tripping and filing a lawsuit.

The Big News of 2013, however, will echo deep into 2014. For the first time in a dozen years, there will be a new CEO in City Hall come January.

The recent history of Scranton can be divided into two periods - B.C. and A.D. Before Chris and After Doherty. Chris Doherty began his first term as mayor vowing to wrest the management of Scranton from its public safety unions.

He will leave office with the unions' grip on power stronger than ever.

Scranton was officially distressed under Act 47 when Mr. Doherty took office. He promised to lift the label in his first term. He ends his third and final term with the ugly tattoo intact and the city further away than ever from escaping Act 47.

The state made Scranton a test case for management rights. Officials repeatedly assured Mr. Doherty he could not lose his war with the unions. Even as the court losses mounted, he stayed the course, upping the ante until the state Supreme Court sealed the city's economic fate.

The court upheld more than $20 million in arbitration awards to the public safety unions, violating the obvious intent of Act 47. The law was enacted to rescue strapped municipalities, not bury them. The decision ensures that reform of Scranton's dysfunctional government will be delayed indefinitely.

City government will continue to serve the narrow interests of its employees, who can legally seize city assets to satisfy the arbitration awards. It is no longer hyperbole to say that City Hall belongs to the police and fire unions.

Mr. Doherty's arch-nemesis, council President Janet Evans, is also moving on. Like Ahab chasing his white whale to disaster, Mrs. Evans relentlessly pursued the destruction of Moby Mayor without even a hint of concern for collateral damage.

Unlike Ahab, who went down with the ship, Mrs. Evans is free to sail away with banners flying, claiming victory even as the city sinks. She sees herself as a martyr to The Little People. True martyrs sacrifice themselves, however, not those whose interests they claim to serve. Mrs. Evans' personal and political grudges always trumped seeking solutions. Hers is a legacy of wasted energy and squandered opportunity.

Mr. Doherty's parting gift to taxpayers is a 2014 budget that increases real estate taxes by 57 percent and hikes the garbage collection fee by 69 percent. These are tough numbers to swallow.

These, too: Of the city's 47,646 registered voters, just under 16,000 cast ballots in the most important mayoral race in recent history. That's 34 percent turnout in a city that has been officially distressed under Act 47 - designed to be a short-term solution - for more than two decades.

The city's distressed status now yawns into a new era - or error, depending on your perspective. The dubious honor of leading an Electric City that struggles to keep the lights on month to month falls to former councilman, tax collector and karate instructor Bill Courtright. He was the unions' candidate, and they will expect a return on their investment. Nothing in Mr. Courtright's public service career suggests any interest in independent thinking.

It's a fool's errand to peer too far into a year that is yet to arrive, but from this side of the divide, Scranton A.D. looks like a tired rerun of Scranton B.C., more of the same and less and less to go around.

CHRIS KELLY, The Times-Tribune columnist, and the staff and families of Times-Shamrock Communications wish you and yours a happy, safe new year. Contact the writer: kellysworld@ timesshamrock.com, @cjkink on Twitter

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